Bonds of a Jinchuuriki
by Katayama-senpai the paper nin
Summary: Naruto is put incharge of a mission to a small town in wind country. Things are not as they seem however. First fanfic - re-writen cos i wasn't happy with it. Naruhina and shiktema.
1. Chapter 1

In fire country stood a village, a village hidden in the leaves. Konoha was one of, if not the strongest of the hidden villages. It had produced many strong ninja such as Konoha's yellow flash the forth Hokage, The white fang Hatake Sakumo, and the three legendary sannin. These are heroes of a different time however. Two of them where already dead, one of the sannin three had turned evil and the other two were getting older.

Now there was a new breed of heroes emerging from the village. Three members of the rookie nine once under Hatake Kakashi's command had been trained by the sannin. However one of them had abandoned the village and forsaken his friends to do so. All the other's from the rookie nine had not given up hope however, they also trained to become the best shinobi they could be.

There was an unusually subtle breeze blowing through the village hidden in the leaves, and the sky was a cloudless, ominous blue. A familiar sound rang out through village streets.

'But Saaaaakkkuurra-chan...' whined a supposedly matured Naruto.

'No Naruto' She replied glaring at him. 'Even if I wanted to you wouldn't be able to do it'

He lowered his head as she started to explain.

'Each shinobi has his or her own style of fighting Naruto. I can't teach you how I got Tsunade-sama's strength you're the wrong type' Sakura explained with a shake of the head 'You see, there are three major different types of ninja. I am a Genjutsu type, meaning that I am best suited to using Genjutsu which requires a lot of chakra control. You are a ninjustu type. Didn't you learn this with Jiraiya-sama' she tilted her head expecting an opposition from him. He just sat listening to her.

'You haven't heard a word I've just said have you Naruto' she questioned.

Snapping out of his boredom induced trance he replied carefully so not to anger her. 'Sorry Sakura-chan I blanked out there'

'Idiot!' she said shrugging. 'Anyway why aren't you out training with Jiraiya-sama today?'

Standing up from the log he had used as a kawamii earlier in their training and answered her.

'Ero-sennin has...research to do' he paused as he held his chin in thought 'meaning he's probably at the springs, peeping on the girls'

'HE'S DOING WHAT WHERE!!!' yelled Sakura. Suddenly Naruto saw a fury in her eyes he had seen only once before. In Tsunade. She had passed on more than medical jutsu and her insane strength. She had passed on the scariest thing about Tsunade. Her temper.

_**T**__**hat purvey old fool still hasn't learned his lesson from Tsunade-**__**sama**__** beating him senseless. Well, I'm just the person to teach him a lesson. This time I'm doing it properly.**_

As a grin that Naruto also recognised from Tsunade crept across Sakura's face she cracked her knuckles. Naruto shivered, if she found Ero-sennin he wouldn't be able to train till he got out of hospital.

'Calm down Sakura...' replied a terrified Naruto. 'I'll sort ero-sennin out' Naruto left, with some speed, after saying this. It was never a good thing to interfere when she was going to hit someone. He started to head towards the springs in town.

Frustrated, Naruto strolled along the streets of Konoha, ahnds in his pockets, kicking a can he had found. How was he going to get stronger if no-one was going to train him? Ero-sennin was always doing...research, Kakashi-sensei never quite put his all into training, he was far too busy reading one of the Icha Icha trilogy.

**'Hey boy' growled a rough voice.**

'What do you want, you stupid animal?' Naruto replied as he walked up to its cage.

**'Why are you ****worrying**** about training? If you release me you'll become more powerful than ever'.**

'Do I look stupid Jiraiya told me abou...'

Naruto was pulled from his conversation with the thing inside of him. He hit the ground with an 'oomph' and started rubbing his butt. As his eyes came back into focus he was about to yell at the person for walking into him. Then he realised who it was sitting on the ground in front of him. Her hair had grown quite a bit since he last saw her and she had filled out in all the right places a fine woman like her should. The one thing that made Naruto realise who it was more than anything else was the little habit she had, of playing with her index fingers when he was around. He thought it was kind of cute the way she did.

_Wait, did I just think that it was...cute? _He started to think. _Ahh__! Better say something before I seem weird._

'Hinata-chan...Is that you' he asked, just to make sure.

'N-NagulpNaruto-kun' she said in her delicate, quiet voice while playing with her fingers even more.

He jumped to his feet with a laugh; he held out his hand and helped her to his feet. Just as she was regaining her balance she was thrown off by Naruto giving her a huge bear hug.

'It's been so long since I saw you Hinata' he exclaimed letting go of her. 'What are you doing here?'

Hinata had now turned a dark shade of scarlet. 'S-Shopping...' she replied pushing the words out her mouth.

As Naruto looked around he saw many different sized white boxes that he hadn't noticed before. He picked them up feeling slightly stupid he just asked what she was doing here, when all these boxes lay scattered.

'Hinata-chan theres a lot of boxes here, are they all yours?' quizzed Naruto

'S-Some of them are for Neji... I-I told him I'd pick them up' mumbled Hinata in her soft voice.

'Let me help you, there's far too many for you to carry' He said holding her boxes.

_Naruto-kun... _Hinata thought with a blushing smile. As they set of to walk Hinata limped with a pain filled moan. Naruto stopped and looked back at her.

'Hinata-chan your leg is hurt' he said puzzled.

'N-No it's just twisted' she returned slowly. She limped over to Naruto's side and gave a small smile slightly blushing at him. Naruto shifted the boxes to his right hand and with his free left hand hooked round under Hinata's arms and took her weight.

'Lean on me till we're back at your House Hinata' Naruto said with a small grin on his face.

Hinata did so and they started to walk back to her house, she noticed that Naruto had changed a lot in the two and a half years she hadn't seen him. He was stronger, much stronger, she could feel the muscle in his arm around her waist. As she walked she took a few glancing looks at Naruto, who the whole walk had a self satisfied smile on his face, like he had done something great. There was something in his smile that made Hinata feel safe and comfortable like she could do anything. She rested her head on the side of Naruto's chest as they walked. As she did this Naruto tilted his head and rested it on top of hers.

Naruto didn't see Hinata taking quick looks at him admiringly, he saw only her sweet, soft beauty as he realised his biggest mistake through the years. It was not realising how much she cared for him. It seemed that the lessons of a drunken Ero-senin were far more useful than his training. Not either of them spoke to the other for the whole walk; they were just enjoying each other's company. Their silence spoke to each of them more than any words could.

The inner peace of their walk was broken as Neji appeared from the confounds of the Hyuuga Household. Clearing his throat Naruto spoke up. 'Neji, these are yours' he said handing the boxes over. He turned to Hinata, unsure of what to say, he looked deep into her lavender eyes 'Your leg still hurt?'

With a slight giggle Hinata responded with 'I-It's fine thanks t-to you, Naruto-kun'

Neji stood there and closed his eyes with a slight smile. 'Hinata don't be too long, your Father wants to speak with you 'he said calmly.

As he started to walk inside the thought to himself _It's taken long enough for him to realise she likes him._ He let out a quite personal laugh as he continued inside.

'I...I better go inside' she said softly 'bye Naruto-kun'

As she walked inside Naruto could only stand and stare at her graceful movement. The way she swung her hips made his jaw drop.

_Wow! I'd like some... _His thoughts stopped there. 'Damned Ero-sennin, corrupting my mind' he said crossing his arms.

As he started to walk away from the Hyuuga household he heard a sound that was becoming as common as hearing Tsunade chasing a certain Ero-sennin. It was the sound of her student beating this certain Ero-sennin.

'Oh no! I forgot, I was meant to warn Ero-senin about Sakura' he said to himself. He started sprinting towards the screams of violence ad curse words that were unmistakably Sakura.

He arrived just in time to see Jiraiya go flying into a nearby wall, Sakura leant over him to implant her fist into his face.

'Kage Bushin no Jutsu' Naruto yelled while making a cross with his fingers, with a poof of smoke 10 shadow close sprang into action. They ran at Sakura to hold her back. She turned and roundhouse kicked them out of existence. Now she was mad. 'Kage Bushin no Jutsu' Naruto yelled again.

Many, many shadow clones later Sakura was finally restrained. She was held down with 3 shadow clones per limb at least. She was still struggling to try and get free however.

'She takes after Tsunade far too much' Jiraiya said as he dusted himself down.

'But that's good in a woman' he said giving Naruto his usual perverted smile.

Naruto hung his head. 'You'll never learn will you Ero-sennin' he said angry that he was having thoughts like him.

'Oh! By the way Tsunade wants you in her office right away, so don't keep her waiting' Jiraiya replied choosing not to hear Naruto's comment.

'Maybe a Mission came up' shot Naruto quickly

With that Naruto jumped up and vanished off across the rooftops to the Hokages room. As he got out of range his shadow clones also vanished with a poof of smoke.

'Ero-senin...'Sakura said in an evil voice as a loud crunch came from her knuckles.

What Tsunade-sama wants Naruto for is a mystery, What will happen between Naruto and Hinata, Will Jiraiya get his just desserts. These will be answered soon in THE MISSION.


	2. The mission

Before Naruto left for his training with Jiraiya, bounding rooftop to rooftop he was one of his favourite things to do. He enjoyed it even more if he could hear the faint sound of Ero-sennin getting the snot beat out of him by an extremely irate Sakura-chan.

_Now was not the time to be reminiscing, Tsunade-sama wants to see me for _something He thought to himself. _A mission maybe_?

He landed on the dusty ground in front of the Hokage's building and looked up the stairs that curled round it to her room. 'That will take too long' he said out loud to himself. With a final great leap Naruto landed on the border of the Hokage's windows. Unlatching a near window and sliding it back slowly, he climbed into the circular room.

'NARUTO!' yelled a familiar voice 'Can't you use a door like any normal person?'

As he turned slowly with a gulp he saw Tsunade-sama standing behind her desk, arms outstretched on the desk. She had that glint in her eyes that terrified both Naruto and Jiraiya for the same obvious reason. Shizune was standing behind her to her right with Tonton in her hands and a surprised look on her face.

'Tsunade-sama I...err' Naruto stumbled his words out awkwardly.

He started to stare at the young looking Hokage, even though he knew she was old enough to be his grandmother, she looked great because of that jutsu.

_NO! Stop, Bad Naruto. I'm gonna kill ero-sennin for this._

'You're turning more and more like Jiraiya everyday' Tsunade said with a smile, as if she could sense Naruto's perverted thoughts.

Naruto stooped looking at her and lowered his head, if she caught him staring at her...figure, he was a dead man.

'Front and centre Naruto, Now!' ordered Tsunade, 'NOW!'

Naruto, scared that she caught him, scurried along towards her desk and stood bolt upright in the centre of the room. He stood there terrified to even breathe; she lowered herself into her seat and joined her hands together in front of her face. She sat staring at him waiting for him to make even the slightest mistake. His breathing became heavier and heavier the longer she stared at him. Had she saw him staring?

'I have a mission for you' she finally spoke after making him sweat. She reached over to a large pile of files on her desk and dropped one in front of her. She flipped it open and, running her finger along the page spoke up. 'It's a B-rank mission' she paused as she looked back at the nervous wreck of a Naruto standing in front of her. 'You and your team should be able to tackle it right' she continued in a slightly cocky tone.

'Granny Tsunade, I have training to do I can't do your stupid B-rank mission' Blurted Naruto in a dismissive tone. He crossed his arms and looked away as he always did when something didn't suit him.

'WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY YOU BRAT!' Exclaimed Tsunade. She vaulted over her desk to get at Naruto, punching him in the head before he realised what was happening.

'That's a shame Naruto' Shizune said slyly as she interrupted, stopping Tsunade from getting another shot off at Naruto. 'YOUR team will be very disappointed Naruto'

'Wait...did you just say my team?' He said as he sat up rubbing his head.

'Yes Naruto you were to be the leader of the team on this mission' stated Tsunade as she realised what Shizune was doing. 'I'll just have to tell them you were busy'

_Maybe I can take some time out of my training after all._

'You're in luck Granny Tsunade, I'm going to take time out of my training to do this mission' He said as he grinned moronically.

You could see the vein on the Hokages forehead getting bigger and bigger with each passing thing Naruto said. He knew exactly how to push her buttons in all the wrong ways and he had no clue he was doing it. All Tsuande could think of was how much he reminded her of a younger Jiraiya, except more annoying if that was possible. He was even becoming a pervert like Jiraiya. She had seen him looking; she just didn't beat him stupid. He couldn't get any stupider.

'Your team Naruto will be a 3 man cell consisting of yourself, Hyuuga Hinata and Nara Shikamaru' Tsunade explained 'You will take charge of the mission'

'Yeah yeah I got it granny Tsunade' Naruto said dismissively as he walked out the door of her office.

**'Kid you're an idiot and a pervert'. Came that gruff voice in the back of his mind.**

'Shut it you stupid fox' he replied.

**'If I'm the stupid one, what's the mission?' He asked mockingly.**

Naruto found himself back from the inner reaches of his mind, standing outside the Hokage's office.

'Damn thing is right' he said angrily.

Back inside the office Tsunade sat starring dumbfounded at her office door. She started counting 'Five'

'Four...three...two...'

'One'

As she finished the last number her office door opened and Naruto's head crept round with a goofy look on his face.

'Err...Tsunade-sama, hehe, what's my mission?' asked Naruto

'Idiot!' exclaimed Tsunade.

'Hinata, Shikamaru please enter' remarked Shizune.

The door opened and Shikamaru lazily strolled into the room and stood next to Naruto. He was followed closely by a nervous Hinata who, when she saw Naruto was on the mission with her, she had her usual blushing sweet smile on her face. He had not seen them as they walked towards the Hokages room, but they had seen him, talking to himself.

'Your mission is to go to a small town in the land of wind. To find this town you must first go to Suna Gakure the hidden sand village and find out the location of this town, as it is hidden in the sand dunes. Only a hidden sand nin would know where to find it. Once there you must take an amulet called the 'tear of the desert' from this town and bring it back to Konoha for safe keeping.' Tsunade spoke in her cold to-the-point-attitude. 'UZUMAKI NARUTO' Naruto stood bolt upright as his name was called by the Hokage-sama. 'You will be put in charge of this mission as a test to see if you are chunnin material'

'Now get out of my sight you little pest' she grunted.

As the now team Naruto left the Hokages room she spoke up 'Nara Shikamaru, keep an eye on Naruto'

'This could be troublesome...' Shikamaru finally said with a roll of his eyes.

---------------------------------------------------------Outside the Hokages room-----------------------------------------

'Right team' remarked Naruto 'We errrm...' he said with a puzzled look on his face.

_What would Kakashi-sensai say?_

**'He'd tell you to meet at the gates'. The Kyuubi interrupted.**

'Why do you keep bothering me today?' Naruto raplied.

'Naruto-kun...' a sweet voice said.

'Right sorry' He said snapping out of his mind. 'we leave for the hidden sand village in an hour, meet at the village gates, you have till then to be ready' he said with an extremely pleased grin on his face. 'See you then' he said as he walked away from Shikamaru followed closely by Hinata.

'Very troublesome...' Shikamaru said as he shook his head. 'Sometimes I think the Hakage-sama does this to me on purpose'

---------------------------------------------------------Konoha's gates--------------------------------------------------------

Naruto, for a change, was the first one standing at Konoha's gates. Hinata came running up to Naruto waving with a huge smile on her face. Followed behind by a lazy looking Shikamaru.

'Right we need to go to the desert. So let's go' Naruto spoke up as they finally arrived at the gates.

_Naruto-kun has grown up so much since the last mission we went on together_ Thought Hinata. _He's gotten so strong as well, I can tell just by looking at his...body..._

'Hinata-chan, are you ok you've gone red' Naruto said with a touch of worry in his voice.

Hinata just stood there, with a bright crimson face, lost to the world of her thoughts.

To be continued in the next chapter...THE DESERT.


	3. The Desert

The Desert was a blistering inferno of pure heat. The horizon was Sand dune after sand dune for miles. This was broken by the occasional cacti standing like a lone guardian of its desert home. This was one of the most arid, inhospitable places in the world. The sand was shifting underfoot making them sink slightly with each step. The three leaf shinobi pushed on however, determined to make it to the hidden sand village. Our spiky blond haired hero thought it was a walk in the park. He'd been in this desert plenty of times and he knew the way to Suna Gakure. Anyone else would have gotten lost.

'Naruto-kun...'Hinata spoke in her delicate voice trying to make conversation with him 'What's the hidden sand village like? I've never been'

'Come to think of it I've never really walked the streets'. As he started to think about this he held his chin in a sort of thinking pose. 'I know the Kazekage though' he said with a stupid grin on his face.

'Shouldn't we be going then...leader' remarked Shikamaru. He couldn't believe he, a Jounin was taking orders from a Gennin.

'Good idea' Naruto boasted. As he turned his head and gazed at his surroundings he realised that he had completely lost his bearings. There was nothing, no land marks, and no features just...sand and more sand.

**'You're lost aren't you Naruto' snarled the voice from the back of his mind.**

'NO! I know exactly where we are going...just not how to get there' He replied to It defensively.

'Well...' he heard Shikamaru ask as he slipped back from his dark place.

As he realised that he had no idea which direction he was going his face dropped. Becoming a chunnin depended on this mission and he had already messed it up. With a slight nervous laugh he looked at Shikamaru scratching the back of his head.

'It's that way Naruto' Shikamaru said pointing north and looking in a different direction.

'I knew I could rely on you for directions Shikamaru, you spend enough time in meetings with the sand...With Temari' He said with a suggestive grin on his face.

Shikamaru ignored his childish remark as they started walking in the direction he had indicated. Hours felt like days in the unbearable heat and it wasn't long before a certain spiky haired leader started complaining.

'How much longer' Naruto complained 'I'm sweating from places I didn't even know I could sweat from'

'If you bothered to stop complaining you'd see we're here Naruto' Shikamaru responded arrogantly

'We are...?' Naruto said sounding both confused and surprised together. After a few seconds of looking straight at the entrance of the hidden sand he finally yelled 'We are' and started running into the hidden sand village.

As they made their way through the huge wall of sand surrounding the entire village, which made the entrance they were met by two very familiar faces. These were the Kazekage Gaara, and his sibling Temari. For the first time Hinata saw Shikamaru's face soften. As he spied Temari a smile crept across his face that wasn't his usual, arrogant 'I'm smarter than you smile'. This smile was a loving smile, a smile from the heart. Naruto was too busy being himself to notice this, but Hinata saw it. She looked across to the konuchi the smile to Shikamaru's usually layed back look, she saw her realise that it was Shikamaru walking towards her. She started to blush slightly as he walked closer. When she realised she was blushing she tried to hide it, she couldn't let him know she had a soft spot for him.

'Kazekage-sama' Naruto said bowing his head slightly

'Naruto' The Kazekage said solemnly 'don't bow to me, I owe you my life and I hope to repay that debt someday'

As Naruto raised his head he spoke 'where is Kankuro?'

'He's out with his team on a mission' was the sharp reply from the Kazekage.

'Come on rooms have been prepared for your stay tonight' Spoke Temari as she stared at Shikamaru.

Gaara turned and started to walk away as Temari was finishing her sentence. The three leaf shinobi and the sand Kunochi , followed after the Kazekage. As they were walking through the streets of Suna Gakure they found they were drawing a crowd. The crowd whispered in hushed tones to the person next to them. The leaf konuchi, Hinata, was unnerved by this. She started to shrink back into her jacket, trying to hide her face away from their stares. Noticing this, Naruto came over to comfort her.

'Hinata-chan' He whispered to her 'What's wrong? Are you worried?'

She shook her head as she spoke up 'Why is everyone looking at us?'

'Well, I AM the one who saved the Kazekage' Naruto spoke with pride in his voice.

'Yeah, Shino was telling me' She said as she came out of her Jacket.

'It's not just that Naruto' remarked the Kazekage. 'They know her to be of the Hyuuga household, they have never seen a Byakugan user before'

Hinata sunk even further into her jacket as Gaara said this. He eyes had always attracted attention. Even when it wasn't activated her Byakugan eyes were different from normal eyes. People were always intrigued by them; some were even a little scared. Neji was used to this attraction people had with his eyes, for the Hyuuga heiress however, it was still intimidating.

'Come on Hinata' he said encouragingly 'you've got beautiful eyes' Naruto bit his lip as he realised what he had just said.

_Did I just say her eyes are...beautiful. Maybe she didn't hear me say it _He thought worryingly. _Why can't I stop thinking about her today?_

Hinata started to turn a slight cherry colour as she realised the compliment. This was the first time Naruto had said something like this to her.

'Thank you Naruto-kun' she said smiling as she came out from hiding her face in her coat.

As they smiled at one another they started to enter the Kazekage's building. It looked like a big ball of sand with doors and windows, in the middle of the village. As they walked through the main entrance hall they were greeted by a sand nin that lowered his head as the Kazekage walked up to him.

'This is Hosoi-san, he will show Shikamaru to his room' Gaara said promptly

'No its ok brother I'll show him' Temari said as she lead him up the stairs to the left.

'I wonder if those two have admitted there feelings for each other yet?' Gaara questioned as he turned to Naruto.

'Shikamaru' he laughed 'I doubt it'

'Hosoi show Hinata to her room' he said turning back to the sand nin. 'I need to speak with Naruto, alone'

'See you in the morning then Hinata-chan' Naruto said as he walked behind the Kazekage.

Hinata followed the sand nin up the spiralling stares to her room. As she walked she was amazed that the building was made of hardened sand. As she reached the room her thoughts had wandered back to Naruto. The sand shinobi opened a door near them and let Hinata into her room.

'Naruto...' the Kazekage paused as he sat behind a desk that looked strangely like the Hokage's. 'I have been Kazekage for over 2 years and I have had my Bijuu extracted by the Akatsuki'

Naruto's mind started to wander to a shy, lilac eyed konuchi as Gaara continued. 'I haven't been on a mission since becoming Kazekage, and...I...miss going on them' he said thoughtfully. 'That's why I'm coming on this mission with your team'

Naruto heard that last thing Gaara said and made him pay at attention. He crossed his arms and thought for a bit before responding 'I don't think that is such a good idea Kazekage-sama'.

'Unless you order me to let you' Naruto said with a grin.

'It can be...' Gaara replied in a manner Naruto had never heard him speak in before. It sounded as if he was happy. 'Suna Gakure can't know I'm going, the village elders would never allow it'

'Well sneak you out of the village then' replied Naruto

'I can get out of this village without anyone knowing' Gaara started as he walked towards a big window and gazed out at his desert home. 'There is a group of cacti near the valley wall roughly a mile east of the village; I will be there by noon tomorrow'

Meanwhile Shikamaru had just finished following the sand konuchi. He was fascinated by the way she walked. How she managed to carry that iron fan on her back and still walk seductively was an incredible feat. Well, Shikamaru thought so as he found he couldn't stop watching her as she lead him to his room. As she turned to face him he looked away pretending the wall was in some way interesting, he didn't want her to know he had been watching her. As Temari opened the door and entered Shikamaru followed. He stood with his hands in his pockets fumbling around with anything he had in them to take his mind off the beautiful girl standing in front of him. He had nothing. As he started looking at her body he found himself lost for words. All he could manage was a mumbled sound.

'Well I'll see you tomorrow Shika-baby...I mean...err' She started to go bright red from embracement and mentally kicked herself as she realised what she said. Shikamaru grinned as she started too walked away. As she drifted past him he turned, and grabbing her wrist, span her round into his arms.

As he lent forward she froze. His warm lips were coarse from the desert as they pushed up against her own. As he pulled her closer to him she could feel the warmth of his body. With one arm round her waist, his free hand ran down her figure and up her back. This sent a shiver down her spine. As she came out of the shock she was originally in, she closed her eyes as she embraced him, pushing her tongue past his rough lips and meeting his. She thought of how sweet he tasted and how long she had waited for this. She raised her arms and ran her fingers through his tied back hair. He picked her up and span her around back into the room, their lips not departing the others for a second. He kicked the door shut behind them as they fell to the floor. Their lips only separated from the passionate kiss they held so he could kiss elsewhere. He moved down from her lips and started gently kissing her neck after each kiss she was left with a burning desire for more of his sensually soft lips more of... him.His kisses ran down her neck and along her collar bone. The moment seem an eternity and they enjoyed every second. As she started to unzip his Jounin jacket there moment was shattered.

There was a loud rumble and the far wall of Shikamaru's room collapsed. As the dust cleared Shikamaru was standing expecting an attack. What he found was a sand shinobi at his feet. As he raised his head and gazed through the hole in his wall he saw that on the other side stood Naruto. He was standing looking down on Hinata, who was passed out in his arms. Shikamaru watched as he saw tears start to fall onto Hinata. Naruto looked up and opened his eyes. The sincere azure eyes he once had were replaced by a blood thirsty red. Shikamaru couldn't believe that what the 5th had told him as he graduated to Jounin was true. She told him that the nine tailed fox was sealed inside of Uzumaki Naruto. Only the adults of Konoha and Jounin ranked ninja's held this information, and they where forbid to talk about it.

Shikamaru watched astounded as Naruto walked away with Hinata in his arms. He was more astounded as he heard him utter the words 'I will protect you'

What happened with Hinata, What will happen with Shikamaru and Temari find out next in ... A NEW TOWN?


	4. A new town

I Hinata awoke to the calming, rhythmic beating of someone's heartbeat. She opened her eyes and allowed them to slowly regain focus to the light of day. Her arms tightened around what she was resting her head on. As her sight became clear she saw that what she was gripping was the one thing her heart longed to wake up next to. Uzumaki Naruto. She lifted her head slowly from his sleeping chest. She then started to slide her left arm carefully from under him. As she done this the sleeping shinobi stirred.

'Hinata-chan...' Naruto said in a loving way.

Hinata froze. She turned, expecting to find him awake, he was still sleeping. Curiosity got the better of the dark haired konuchi. She leant over towards him. He looked so peaceful as he slept, not a care in the world.

'...Come back to bed...' he finally mumbled, blissfully unaware that Hinata was so close to him she could feel his warm breath on her face.

Hinata was shocked at what he had just said, even if he was asleep. She jolted and sat bolt upright, throwing the spiky blond haired ninja lying next to her on the floor.

'Awww, I was having the most wonderful dream about Hina...' Naruto stopped himself as he looked up to find a very happy looking but extremely red Hinata sitting on the edge of the bed.

_Come on Naruto! Shut your mouth from now on you nearly spat out... _His thoughts were interrupted by the same gruff voice he heard many times before.

**'Kid...' came the voice that shared Naruto's body. 'You have some interesting dreams****'****it**** said almost mockingly.**

'How did you see my dreams?' Naruto said worryingly.

**'We share the same mind, and I don't sleep' was the reply.**

Naruto ignored the Kyuubi and jumped to his feet faster than he had ever moved before.

'Hinata-chan are you alright?' he asked.

'You just startled me' she responded in her tender tone.

'I'm talking about last night Hinata-chan'

Hinata looked around the room and was shocked. It was destroyed. There was a large gouge taken out of the wall near the door. It was encrusted with drying blood. Most if not all the furniture was crushed to pieces. There were shards of broken wood littering the floor. It looked as if the room had been pillaged and people murdered in it. Yet there wasn't a scratch on her or Naruto.

'N-Naruto-kun' she whispered 'What happened to the room?'

Looking around the room a nervous smirk snuck across Naruto's face. 'I guess you could say I happened to the room'

'Last night as I came up to see you, I needed to tell you something important but I found that Hosoi sand shinobi pinning you to the wall' he stopped, clearly not wanting to recall what had happened. 'He...he...was kissing you...' Naruto finally managed to push the words past his lips. 'He was trying to get his hands... trying to get his hands down your pants'. As he was saying this he stood up clenching his fists. 'You fainted when I hit him'. He turned his back to Hinata, to hide the tears of pain welling up in his eyes. He turned his head slightly as he stepped towards the door. 'I will protect you' he said as a single crystal tear fell from his azure eye and ran down his cheek over his whisker marks. The last words he spoke as the door closed behind him made Hinata so happy she nearly fainted 'I promise'.

**'You didn't tell her about my appearance last night' snarled**** the voice in the back of his head.**

Naruto stood in front of its cage, not saying a word. He just stood ankle deep in water looking down.

**'You're scared' it said scornfully. 'Scared that the girl Hinata will reject you, fear you, like the rest of the village' **

'SHUT UP!' Naruto yelled. 'What do you know, stupid fox'

**'I know how strongly you feel for her' He said laughing. 'But ****It**** is an emotion I have never felt before'**

Naruto paid no attention to the Bijuu inside of him and dragged himself from his mind. He shook his head as if trying to shake the demons words from his thoughts.

----------------------------------------------------------Suna Gakure Entrance----------------------------------------------

As the three leaf shinobi where walking out if the hidden sand village not one of them spoke. Naruto lead the team out, enthusiastically taking charge. This was a mask however as he was still thinking about what the Kyuubi had said. Hinata was in the middle, not walking at Naruto's speed but not as slowly as Shikamaru. The words that Naruto had told her only hours before still rang through Hinata's mind. She walked with a small smile on her face as she thought about her feelings for him. Shikamaru strolled idly behind the two other ninja, he was still thinking about what he had seen the night before. The eyes that had replaced Naruto's were etched into his mind. Yet he respected the 3rd's rule and remained silent about it.

They started to walk east from the hidden sand village like they had been told to by Temari. They soon came across a group of cacti. Naruto seemed to speed up as he saw the cacti, he being the only leaf ninja to know what was concealed inside them. As they drew closer to it the sand started to move under foot, they looked towards the cacti and saw a figure rising from it. As the figure leapt forward from the platform he was instantly recognisable by the person sized gourd on his back.

This caused Shikamaru's Jounin instincts to find out what was going on.

Naruto you knew the Kazekage-sama was going to be here didn't you' questioned Shikamaru.

'Yeah Shikamaru it was our plan, Gaara-sama wanted to come on the mission' responded Naruto

'This is a bad idea Naruto'

'He could order you to let him come on the mission with us' Naruto said slyly.

'Fine...' Shikamaru replied as he remember that he was the kazekage now.

'The town you're looking for is a day's walk in this direction' said Gaara walking perfectly east.

As the four shinobi walk through the desert it was complete silence. Naruto and Hinata were both deep in their own thoughts, Shikamaru was just enjoying the peace while he had it and Gaara rarely spoke anyway. As the sun stated to set on the desert Gaara stopped and turned around to face the 3 Konoha shinobi. 'We need to make camp before sundown' he said after a slight pause.

'Why...' Naruto questioned not really wanting to know the answer.

'Because the temperature drops dramatically in the desert at night' replied Shikamaru in his usual tone.

Gaara walk towards one of the huge walls of the valley they were walking in and put his hand on it and closed his eyes. As he moved his hand way from the wall a lot of the sand came with it, flowing around his hand and eventually falling to the desert floor. What was left was a large hollow in the valley wall. Gaara made a gesture to the three leaf shinobi indicating to go in. As they entered they realised that it was much bigger from the inside than it looked from the outside and there was more than enough room for them all. As the sun set the shinobi started to settle down for the night as they would set of early in the morning.

--------------------------------------------------------That Night----------------------------------------------------------------

Hinata woke in the night from a dream. As she turned on her side she noticed that Naruto wasn't in his sleeping bag. Curious and worried at the same time she got up to find him. As she cautiously stepped around Shikamaru and Gaara, taking great care not to wake them she exited Gaara's cave. As she stood outside of the cave she heeded the sweetest noise her ears had ever heard. As she looked around trying to find where this enchanting sound was coming from she looked up and saw Naruto's shoe. She climbed the rock face to where Naruto lay and stood at his feet. She soon found that the harmonious melody she found herself addicted to was coming from him. As he opened his eyes to see who was there he stopped his song. Naruto just lay there not knowing what to say to the stunning, new Hinata that stood in front of him.

_Hinata has become a fine woman and an amazing __konuchi_ contemplated Naruto. _Why can't I stop thinking about her? And why do I feel great when she's around me._

**'You really are one of a kind kid' ****came**** the howling voice in his mind. 'You're so stupid'**

Before Naruto could respond to the voice he was disturbed by Hinata laying her head on his chest. He couldn't help but smell her. She was like flowers in spring. He started to run his rough, battle worn hands through her soft, silken hair. As the pair of ninja's lay staring at the stars that shone brighter than ever overhead, Hinata broke the silence with a question.

'Naruto-kun...that song...what was it?'

'I don't know Hinata-chan' he said almost regretfully 'I don't even know the words, all I know is that it's from when I was a Baby'

'It's beautiful' she said with a smile of sincerity.

'I know something that's more beautiful' Naruto replied blushingly.

Hinata nearly fainted at this compliment it was the second compliment on her looks he had given her. Before Hinata could respond to Naruto and thank him, a shooting star soared across the night sky.

'Look Hinata-chan! Make a wish' Naruto said excitedly.

Hinata and Naruto closed their eyes and wished with all their heart and soul. When they opened them again their gazes met and they looked deep into their heart for how they felt. Hinata started to wonder, _Could this be as good as it seems_? She asked herself, _I__s this love, or just foolishness? Maybe you're just being too hopeful, naive even_. Yet she couldn't shake that inexplicable pull towards Naruto.

'Hinata-chan there is something I need to tell you' Naruto said sadly.

'Yes Naruto-kun...' Hinata was confused this couldn't be what she was hoping, he sounded too sad for it to be that.

'I...I'm...' he started but didn't know how to finish. 'It would...be easier to show you'

He stood up next to Hinata and unzipped his jacket and dropped it on the ground next to him. He then took of his T-shirt. Hinata found she was unable to look away from his body. It was perfection. He didn't notice her staring; he formed a hand sign and started to collect chakra. As he did so a black seal became clearly visible on his stomach. Hinata was confused. She knew she had seen the seal before but she didn't know where from. He lowered himself down next to her and started to explain.

'Not long after I was born a Bijuu was sealed inside of me...' he pause thinking how he was going to explain. 'But it wasn't any Bijuu it was the strongest, the nine tails, it was sealed inside me by the 4th Hokage'

Hinata gasped. She had known about the attack on the village before her birth but all she was told is that the best was defeated by the 4th Hokage. Nothing more. She seen the two seals that were placed on Naruto in a scroll she found when helping to tidy the 3rd's office. They were the strongest Jutsu seals known. What he told her had to be true.

'It's ok...I'm a monster, I know' He said as he hung he head walking away from her.

'Naruto-kun...'she said in a way that drew him to her.

She stood up and walked towards him. Standing on her toes she wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him a reassuring hug. They both blushed slightly, but neither of them seen the others. As they separated she rested her head on his chest and put her arm round his back. She felt his breathing start to slow as he realised she wasn't like the rest.

'I don't think you're a monster, the Kyuubi is the monster, not you' she said as she gazed at his eyes.

Naruto lifted his hand to her tantalizingly soft cheek and ran his thumb across her bottom lip. As his thumb moved across her lip he felt an urge come from deep inside him. He craved to feel his lips against his. He lowered his hand to her chin and lifted her face slightly. The light from the full moon gleamed in her flawless eyes making them shimmer like the starts above. He leant towards her and let their lips have what they both yearned for. Their lips touched only a little at first, but that was enough to leave them both wanting more. As their lips met a seconded time Hinata opened her mouth to let his invading tongue meet hers. Her hands started to run through his wild, untamed hair. Naruto hand wandered and ran down all of Hinata's perfect curves. As their kiss broke for a moment Naruto started to lick Hinata's moist, delicate lips. She let out a small moan of pleasure as he started to nibble ever so softly on her bottom lip. As he started to move his kisses from her lips, to across her jawbone, Hinata unzipped Naruto's Jacket and slid her hand up his shirt. As her hand moved further up she could feel every bump and ripple of his well toned body and it made her desire for more of him. Naruto began slowly moving his kisses down her neck, then across her collarbone. Her back started to arch from the pleasure as his hand ran across her bosoms then along her sides. Each of his affectionate kisses left a small red mark as they ran further down her body, making her plead for more. As they broke, they gazed at one another. Hinata blushed with a small loving smile.

'Wishes do come true' remarked Naruto as he wrapped his arms round Hinata pulling her closer to him and embracing her. Hinata had a smile on her face as she laid her head back on his chest, and listened to his deep breathing.

'It's taken long enough' Shikamaru laughed slightly as he said this turning to Gaara.

'Naruto...He's not the smartest, is he?' the Kazekage replied as he walked back into his cave.

---------------------------------------------------------Morning---------------------------------------------------------------

As the sun peeked out from the dry clouds the next morning, Naruto and Hinata were still sleeping on the valley wall. They had fallen asleep in each other's arms. The sound of Shikamaru and Gaara moving made the konuchi stir. She sat up and looked at Naruto, she didn't what too wake him he looked so peaceful. After a few minutes hes decided she had no choice and woke our sleeping hero. As he sat up a mound of sand at his feet started to move, and take a shape. As it collected itself it rose to about Naruto's high and took form of a red haired Kazekage.

'Will you two be joining us for the rest of the mission?' the suna bunshin spoke.

Hinata started to blush softly, Naruto just laughed. 'Be right there' He yelled down the valley.

They jumped down for there perch together and set off towards the town on the final stretch.

As they set off Shikamaru remarked 'so...anything you to want to tell us'

'No' replied Naruto, all Hinata could muster was a blush. Shikamaru left it at that but as he dropped back he smiled. They were holding hands. In a few hours there would be at the town and the mission would really begin.

Next Chapter ENTER A NEW TOWN


End file.
